Okay, so you have kids or are planning on starting a family and want to give them the best education possible. Great. I’m the same. When my wife and I have children, we want to give our kids the best start in life we can, so I know where you’re coming from. As a financial adviser, two of the most common questions I get asked is “can...
Private schools aren’t cheap. Far from it. Last year, Australians forked out around $10 billion dollars for private school tuition, with 49 percent covering the annual cost of out of their disposable income. With that 49 percent in mind, if you are thinking of sending your kids private, there’s a lot to consider. You need a gameplan. The earlier you have one, the better. The last thing...
Budgeting sucks. I get it. Unless you’re someone who takes great pride in creating intricate Excel spreadsheets that break down every aspect of your weekly spending in forensic detail, budgeting can be a pain in the you know where. If you can’t be bothered, like to keep your head in the sand with your finances while fearing the worst, or shy away from getting ‘bogged down...
How good are you with managing your money? And don’t worry – it’s not a trick question. The reason I ask is you’d be surprised at how many people make it well into adulthood without learning the basics of good money management. In Australia, we’re talking almost half the adult population, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Meaning, around 45 percent of Australians...
Who’s up for saving an extra $5K over the next six months? Maybe your credit card’s copped a bit of a caning over the past two months. Maybe you’re saving up to get out of Melbourne for a few weeks come winter and head somewhere warmer. Maybe you’d just like a little extra up your sleeve for a rainy day. Sound good? You in? I have a...
I have a question for you, and be honest. Over the past five years, how many times have you made a New Year’s resolution and actually seen it through? It’s hard, I know. We always start the new year with the best of intentions. We make resolutions while we’ve got our feet up over the Christmas break, but then struggle to stick to our goals...
Life’s full of risks. That’s a given. Some you can mitigate against, some you can’t. When it comes to investing, one of the critical ways of minimising risk is diversification. It can save you a lot of stress, particularly if you’re prone to money worries keeping you awake at night. In fact, I’d argue that a diversified portfolio should play a vital role within any long-term...
You rarely get a free ride in life. Same goes for investments – every one you make will have some kind of fee attached. Left to run amok, fees can seriously suck the life out of your investment portfolio. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve met with active portfolios who’re losing significant amounts of cash at the hands of rampant fees. They really...
This week, I want to talk you through compounding interest, often referred to as ‘compound earnings’. Albert Einstein called it one of the ‘greatest mathematical discoveries of all time’. Many in the financial world refer to it as ‘a force of nature’ – a secret sauce, if you will. Whichever way you look at it, compounding returns have played a critical role in helping the rich...
For a novice, the sharemarket can be like landing in Shanghai and not being able to speak Mandarin. As with any language, though, start learning the foundations, and all of a sudden things start to fall into place. Ultimately, the sharemarket can be as complex as you want to make it. It really depends on what your financial goals are and whether you want to learn...
